Prologue
Samantha
took a sip of tea carefully, focusing on controlling her hands so that they
wouldn’t shake in the presence of the La Faer Noir elders who sat with
her. She hardly tasted the scalding
liquid as it slipped down her throat.
She set her teacup down with a practiced smile and turned to her guests. “Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of your
company this evening?”
Lamia,
a naga with light green skin and darker green hair, smiled politely back at
her. The woman was half-human,
half-snake, and while Samantha noted the end of her tail uncoiling along the
ground out of the corner of her eye, she ignored it out of politeness. And perhaps a little out of fear.
“Some
concerning news has come to our attention,” Lamia said, pausing for
suspense. She turned to the other woman
at the table. The third and final member
of their party sat still and tall. She
had an air of royalty about her, and the cold calm that Samantha felt in her
presence was probably what she was intimidated by the most. Iyln was of the fae, and her bone white skin
contrasted with her black, bottomless eyes in a beautiful, very alien way. Her ears were pointed, nearly touching the
crown that sat atop her long, silky black hair.
Samantha had never sat so close to her, and could only admire the silver
crown that threaded through her hair, inlaid with emeralds, topaz and amethyst.
“And
what news is this?” Samantha asked nervously, looking back and forth between
the two women.
Iyln
looked out over the balcony of Samantha’s suite, where the sounds of New York’s
nightlife traveled up to them. Car horns
blared, people yelled and hooted, and sirens rang out, echoing between the
buildings. Samantha swallowed hard,
wondering if perhaps she should have invited them to sit indoors. But then Iyln turned her piercing gaze on
Samantha, and Samantha forced herself not to look away.
“The
hunters, Miss Cummings,” Iyln stated.
“We are concerned about the recent rift between the hunters.”
“The
hunters?” Samantha frowned.
Tessa,
a girl with blonde hair appeared out of the shadows and refilled Lamia’s
teacup, the pink stone that fell over her forehead from a silver chain bobbing
in the air for a moment. And then she
disappeared back into the shadows, as if swallowed by the darkness.
It
gave Samantha a small amount of courage knowing that Tessa was there, and she stood
a little straighter, feeling more confident.
“Yes, the hunters have split into two teams,” she said. “Valor and Hunter are leading a team with
most of the original members, while this new government crony, Ross, has taken
over their facility in Lime Bay.”
“Valor’s
team is on the run, and are considered fugitives,” Lamia commented. “That is of concern to us.”
“Why
should it concern you?” Samantha wondered, her eyes swiveling to meet
Iyln’s. Then she smiled. “Ah.
Shanna Hunt, of course.”
Iyln
took a sip of her tea and tilted her head.
“Not only is Shanna Hunt a person of interest to La Faer Noir, given her
connections to our founder, the vampire Diana.
But we had a…relationship with the hunters at The Agency that suited
us.”
“Oh?”
Samantha sat forward, her interest piqued.
“How so?”
Lamia
chuckled. “Frankly, the hunters are
easily manipulated. We need only feed
them a little information to give them a push, and suddenly, they take care of
some of our more…unsavory problems
for us. Like in New Orleans.” She paused.
“They have been a rather surprising asset.”
“And,
of course,” Iyln continued, “having no clue as to the whereabouts of Valor’s
group is rather…unsettling.”
Samantha
nodded slowly. “Of course. I have a spy in Ross’ team right now, but
despite my best efforts, I haven’t been able to locate the other team
either. However, given that they’re
hunters, all we need to do is give them the right bait to flush them out. They couldn’t stay away from a truly juicy
supernatural threat.”
“Unless
the other team responds first,” Iyln said, looking impatient. “Miss Cummings, we are making this your
branch’s top priority.”
“Do
you realize what could happen to La Faer Noir without Shanna Hunt?” Lamia
added. “The Black Wings…they are
everywhere, sabotaging our efforts. The
hunters have been able to keep them under control recently, but without their
help…” She shook her head. “The future could be a very dark place
indeed, if those fools have their way.”
“Shanna
Hunt?” Samantha echoed, frowning.
“Shanna
Hunt is to be turned over to us as soon as she is located,” Iyln said. “If the Black Wings get to her first, we have
no hope. We must be proactive if we are
to be triumphant in the coming war.”
“War?”
Samantha paled. “I didn’t realize that
the situation had become so grim.”
“Without
cohesion in La Faer Noir, without a truly united front, we will fall before our
enemies. Shanna Hunt can reunite us, and
strengthen our cause. With our original
founder as a figurehead, we can continue to find ways to cohabitate with
humans. Without her, it’s only a matter
of time before the Black Wings triumph and out us to the world, bringing about
a dark age.”
Lamia
nodded. “It is pertinent that we get to
Shanna Hunt first.
“But
The Black Fire said that the choice was hers.”
“Irrelevant,”
Iyln sniffed. “The Black Fire is a
tool. We take its advice at our
discretion.”
Lamia
leaned forward. “So if you know where Shanna
Hunt is…”
Samantha
shook her head. “I don’t. I wish I…”
She let her voice trail off, and chuckled. “That was a close one, wasn’t it, Tessa?”
Tessa
appeared among them again and refilled the cup before Samantha, even though she
had hardly touched the brew. “You let
your concentration waver,” Tessa agreed.
“Ah,
yes.” Iyln sat back to regard Tessa.
“Your djinn.”
“Reports
state that you only have one remaining wish,” Lamia stated, also watching the
djinn closely.
Samantha
stiffened, wondering how such information had leaked. It was perhaps a sign of weakness on her
part, that she’d needed the help of a djinn recently. “I assure you that I have everything under
control.”
Iyln
turned to her. “If we didn’t have
confidence in you, Miss Cummings, we wouldn’t be here. Do not let us down.” She stood abruptly. “Thank you for the tea.”
Samantha
stood with Lamia and watched as the elders swept from the room. Lamia turned to look back at her from the
doorway and smiled. “You are in line to
be the next elder of the fire element, Samantha. This could solidify your place among us.”
Samantha
hadn’t been expecting that, and stood there stupidly, blinking after them, long
after they’d gone.
“Deliver
Shanna Hunt to them, and you will claim the role you have coveted your entire
life,” Tessa whispered in her ear, causing Samantha to shiver. “You will have limitless power.”
Samantha
frowned. “Yes. And they will change Shanna Hunt into a
vampire, so that they can have their precious Diana back.”
“Not
a bad trade,” Tessa shrugged.
Samantha
nodded, wondering why it bothered her so.
